


The Things She Saw

by iamlordmoldyshorts



Series: Let Go [2]
Category: Alex Rider - Anthony Horowitz
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-10
Updated: 2012-04-10
Packaged: 2017-11-03 10:02:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/380169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamlordmoldyshorts/pseuds/iamlordmoldyshorts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Follow up to Let Go. Allana McKozy lived next door to Ian and Alex Rider for 18 years and could swear that nothing terribly interesting ever happened...until now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Things She Saw

**Author's Note:**

> So, after getting requests for a follow-up from numerous people, this is a short side story to go with Let Go. Read that first...or this one won't make sense. Just sayin...
> 
> Yes, there's a subtle ode to my other fandom in this story. I realize that the two fandoms are in no way related to each other…I also realize that the two families live nowhere close to each other and in two separate decades. Humor me and just read the story anyway.

Allana McKozy never really found out too much about her neighbors.

Sometimes no matter how much you snoop around, there just isn't anything interesting to be found.

She had moved into her home when Ian Rider was living by himself in his house next door. However, Ian Rider didn't date. He didn't bring home women in the middle of the night, only to send them packing in the morning. Nothing interesting ever happened at Ian Rider's house. She stuck to watching her neighbors on the other side. They were much more interesting characters…(After all, how often does a one year old baby show up on the front porch? She'd never heard such screams.)

Two years later, Alex made his arrival onto the street. Through the grapevine, Allana had gathered that Alex's parents had died in a tragic plane accident. She decided to make muffins for the new father as a welcoming gift.

However, when she got over there, the only person to be found was a distraught nanny with a crying baby on her hip. Nasty things, those ear infections…but where was Ian? Allana handed the nanny her basket of muffins and left with the parting shot of, "I live right next door, so if you need any help at all, just ring my bell."

She came to regret that when, at two in the morning, the nanny came over and dropped off baby Alex claiming that the child was stealing her sanity. That was the last that Allana had ever seen that particular nanny at the Rider residence.

Allana fed that child for two days. Two days, she waited for the return of his new surrogate father. She hoped Ian knew that he had a child now.

She watched through the curtains as a black town car pulled up outside Ian's house and dislodged a broken young man. She had never seen Ian like this…so distraught. As he trudged to his front door, keys in hand, Allana quickly gathered up all of Alex's toys, hitched him up on her waist, and went to go meet him.

The hand-off went smoothly. Well, as smoothly as it could have gone. Turns out Ian did know that he was a new father but had been away on a business trip when he got the news. His company had hired the nanny because they couldn't afford to let him go home. Allana commiserated with him about crappy bosses before heading out the front door, once more with the parting shot of, "if you need any help, just let me know."

Things settled down a bit after that. Ian still came and went from his business trips…as did the numerous babysitters. Turns out, Alex was a good child. Inquisitive to the point of distraction, but what child isn't? For the first six years Allana volunteered her own child watching services at the last minute when Ian was called away but it all changed when a young American was brought into the Rider household.

Jack Starbright (as she came to find out) was a law student looking for somewhere to live in London. Turns out Ian had been looking for a live-in nanny to watch over Alex while he was on his numerous business trips. Allana didn't see Alex or Ian nearly as much now. However, she still observed the strange comings and goings from the Rider house from the safe confines of her living room.

She was there for it all. She was there when a young man with a strange gait about him came to the house at four in the morning and woke up the whole neighborhood screaming to see his godson. She was sucked into the drama when there was an unmarked van parked outside of Rider's house for three days before police cars came screaming up to it and took all the squatters into custody.

Other than that, life on the Rider street was pretty quiet. Until the day Ian died. The blue flashing lights were a dead giveaway. She had seen enough dramas on television to know that nothing good came from cops visiting your house after dark. But she saw no tears. It was strange, knowing that her next door neighbor had died yet his nephew didn't shed a single tear. He just nodded his head with a chilling calm about him.

She didn't attend the funeral. Apparently it was too private a function for mere next door neighbors.

After that, Alex started disappearing too. Word on the street was that he was missing an unusual amount of school. She figured it was time to start nosing around again, but once again, didn't find anything concrete to help her on the way to a conclusion. She gave up searching. After all, it's not like a bank would hire a fourteen year old to continue his uncles' job after death. That was absurd. She scoffed to herself, took her last sip of tea, and went to bed for the night.

Time flew by as Allana became more and more detached to the situation in the Rider household. After all, much more interesting things were happening at the house on the other side. She heard that someone in their house had eaten so much that they had popped. She laughed at the illogical description. Who could possibly eat that much? Due to her relentless giggling, she failed to notice Alex's approach to his house.

The screaming brought her to a screeching halt. Gathering herself, she ran to the living room and peeked out into the street. Seeing nothing, she glanced around shiftily, gathered up her cell phone and keys, and walked out the front door.

Allana was drawn to the screams like a moth to flame. What could be creating that horrible racket? Turns out, she hadn't wanted to know. Soon, she was screaming too. No matter how many times you see a dead body on the soaps, it's nothing like seeing it in person. There's so much more blood…and the smell is just horrendous.

She whipped out her phone and called 999. She sat down on the floor and started crying. A police officer escorted her out of the house and sat her on the curb. As she tried to contain her sobs, she watched another officer walk out of the house with Alex Rider. He patted Alex on the shoulder, put him in a car, and watched him drive away from the terrible scene.

After the heavy sedation, Allana wasn't sure whether or not she had hallucinated Alex's short return but either way, ten minutes later he was gone. He looked to be about as sedated as she. However, gone was the calm acceptance from his uncles death. This was a young man who had been pushed to the edge and was hanging on for dear life. Why wouldn't anyone help him? Allana observed through her window as he was walked to the car and then as the car drove off down the street.

Blinking, Allana sat back down on the couch, shrugged and went back to sleep.

Three days later at midnight, she was awoken to the sound of trash cans rattling. As she peeked out her kitchen window, she saw a shadowy fourteen year old picking the locks into his own house. She stared in shock as he quickly gathered up belongings and got out of the house after a mere fifteen minutes.

That was the last she ever saw of Alex Rider.

**Author's Note:**

> So, just my two cents. Allana McKozy is based off of my completely oblivious friend who requested a follow-up with her in it, complete with Harry Potter mentions and all.
> 
> Props if you saw both of them.
> 
> Feel free to review!
> 
> ~Moldy


End file.
